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Palacios quizzes Ada on DPW budget
Sen. Arnold Palacios (R-Saipan) said acting Department of Public Works chief James Ada faces a stiff challenge, particularly on the department’s budget spending.
Ada, who was nominated to take the helm of the DPW, sat in front of lawmakers on Thursday on Capital Hill for a nomination hearing.
Palacios said he was “impressed with the testimonials” in Ada’s favor but the department’s budget “might be a challenge.”
Palacios said he has read a portion of DPW’s proposed budget plan, which included an allocation of $1.7 million to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for DPW’s streetlights.
The lawmaker said he is “wondering if this amount can be used for other purposes,” adding that DPW and CUC might be able to coordinate on these payments.
He said DPW’s delivery of services have been “sliding” in the last few years, stressing that he is not “pointing a finger” at anyone, and that these concerns might be due to lack of resources or management issues.
Aside from the utilities payments, Palacios also advised Ada to look into other projects such as solid waste management, which he says is a major issue.
Ada, in an interview, confirmed the proposed payment to CUC, noting that payments for streetlights range from a low of $150,000 per month, to a high of $190,000.
“But we will work with the resources that we have,” he said.
He did not disclose the actual budget proposal of the DPW, saying only that it is more or less the same budget in the previous year.
